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Mental competency questioned for woman charged in double fatal crash

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The deadly crash occurred around 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 4, on Palmdale Boulevard, west of 130th Street East, according to the California Highway Patrol. [Photo by LUIS MEZA]
Samantha Lozano [Image courtesy CHP]
LANCASTER — Arraignment was postponed Tuesday for Samantha Lozano, the driver charged with fleeing the scene of a single-vehicle crash that killed two of her passengers.

“It appears that a question was raised… as to the mental health ability of [Lozano] to assist in her own defense, so the case has been sent to mental health court,” stated Ricardo Santiago of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

A hearing is scheduled for March 14 for an update on the mental health proceedings, Santiago added.

Lozano, 26, of Palmdale, is charged with two counts of felony vehicular manslaughter and one felony count each of hit and run driving resulting in death or serious injury to another person and possession for sale of methamphetamine, according to court records.

The charges were filed Feb. 16 in connection to the Feb. 4 crash that killed Steve Wissar Jr. and Talia Novak, both 20, of Palmdale.

The deadly single-vehicle collision occurred around 4:30 p.m. on Palmdale Boulevard, west of 130th Street East, according to a California Highway Patrol report.

Lozano was driving a 1999 Infinity G20 westbound on Palmdale Boulevard when the vehicle veered off the road, overturned and crashed into a utility pole, the CHP report states.

Steve Wissar Jr. sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Steve Wissar Jr., Talia Novak [images via godundme]
Four people in the backseat — Sodel Wissar, 21, of Palmdale; Jacob Soto, 18, of Urbandale, IA; a 17-year-old boy from North Hills; and Novak — were thrown from the car as it was overturning. The backseat passengers were transported to local hospitals with major injuries, and Novak was later pronounced dead, according to the CHP.

Lozano allegedly fled the crash scene in an unknown vehicle and eluded authorities for 10 days.

She was arrested Feb. 14 at an apartment complex on 11th Street East, south of Palmdale Blvd., and officers seized a “large amount of methamphetamine” during the arrest, according to a CHP report.

Lozano remains in custody with bail set at $1,030,000.

Previous related stories:

Driver arrested in double fatal crash

Driver sought in fatal Littlerock crash

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46 comments for "Mental competency questioned for woman charged in double fatal crash"

  1. Psychosis is a known effect of long term use of speed. Clearly she abandoned the scene because of having possession. Drug induced psychosis is usually a temporary condition. She would have to go through treatment. I drove through the scene after the accident but several had already stopped. Its disturbing to see bodies on the ground and the roof tore off a car. Naturally the guilty driver suffers little injury. I suspect she has been told to plead mental incapacity to be found not guilty. Shameful.

    • Weather or not anyone thinks this is all sams fault.. ITS not….. everyone else is held responsable also they all knew about the seating situation before they got in the car , she didnt force no one in the car.. they went wiling. Yea i understnad no license and no regestration but a license and a regestration has nothing to do with the time the place.. okay .. if i was i her shoes i would of fled also.. she was scared she was just in an accident and lost people close to her also.. she tried cpr but too late.. now she is even more destrought confised scared, and totally not in right state of mine.. BUt look at it this way.. it wasnt her fault that they choose to not wear seat belts and it wasnt her that forced into vehicle. but yes she was behind the wheel.. Everyone always points fingers and make t seem like this was done intentially and it wasnt,,, she did not wake up in the morning and say HEY TODAY I THINK I AM GOING TO GET MY FRIENDS TO GO WITH ME IN THE CAR AND IM GOING TO CRASH IT ON PURPOSE CAUSE I WANTED TO SPEND A LONG MAJORITY OF MY LIFE IN JAIL BECAUSE MY CHOICES WERE TO DESTROY A FAMILY LIFE BY MAKING THEM SUFFER FROM LOOSING A CHILD BROTER SISTER FRIEND BOY FIREND. .. u GET WHAT I AM GETTNG IT.. PEOPLE MAKE MISTAKES.. AND YES A MAJORITY OF THESE PEOPLE OUT HERE ARE UNDER THE INFLUENCE BUT SHE WASNT NOW THATS ALL SHE WANTS TO DO IS STAY HIGH TRY NOT TO HAVE A BREAK DOWN FLASH BACK OF THE HORRIFYING EXSPERIENCE SHE HAD TO LIVE.. AND LOOSE HER SELF AND EVERYONE ELSE AROUND HER.. NObody knows that in mean time she was getting a lawyer ready to turn her self in and the first lawyer told her no not yet i have too many cases let me get back at u i have a referall for someone perfect for ur case.. so she did in the mean time being all of t.v breaking down inside.. has no where to go wants to waite for that call.. so what des she do turn to the street life ways.. gets some drugs and barter the drugs for a place to rest her neck.. and she could stay high so she is destracted by reality.. YO CANT TELL ME THAT .. NOT ONE OF WOULD DO SOMETHING SIMILAR TO WHAT SHE DID… i know for damn sure i would soemthing diffrent but if i was about taht life thats what i would do.. after accident now its go bog go home i know y freedom is not at 50%-50%.. bevause everyone judges a book by listening to only half of the story.. with out finishing… she is young give her the benefit of the doubt that people dont always make brght choces but we do pay the price and do the time.. and she wil never be the same again exsprience something so traggic, My condolences to the family may he rest in peace… Samatha you deserve to be heard.. and i am gonna come see u and see what needs to happened.. what we gotta do to get u to fight it on the outside,,,,

      • TO Karma,

        Your spelling and lack of punctuation made your post hard to read. Maybe if you took your education more seriously while in school, people would take your opinion of this matter more seriously.

        A few things I feel must be mentioned…. yes they chose to ride in the car with her, HOWEVER, if you studied any of the laws to get your drivers license, you would know that it is the DRIVERS responsibility to make sure everyone is buckled up. She didn’t have to drive illegally, no one forced her to do so. I for sure, would NOT do what she did before, during or after the incident. You live in a sad reality if you think everyone else would react the way she did.

        If you think she deserves to be heard, which everyone does, why is she behaving in such a manner that she is having her mental competency evaluated? Another poor choice in prolonging the closure of this case. She could have turned herself in, and lawyered up while in jail.

        And, what kind of friend are you if you wait 4 or 5 months to say your gonna go see her and see what needs to happen?

  2. This is coming from a friend of all of them sodel Steven jacob taliah. And sam and as i sit here and read these comments. On here i couldn’t do nothing. But respond and say. [removed] u hataz sad to say Sam did wat she did she. Gonna have to face her consequences smfh it might have been a accident. But the important. Part is it still happened. [removed] all of u hataz. Tawkn bad on da wissar family. Hell aint nobody. Perfect. But the things u all r saying. Is straight. [removed] u need to. Think before. U speak

    • You need to learn how to spell before you type you B.fuck him [removed] his family he deserved to die.god did the world a favor sending that [removed] back to hell.he was a leech waste of life piece of [removed] gangbanger.naturally selected by the almighty for all his [removed] tweaker antics.

      • Excuse me tf steven was my brother and he didn’t deserve to die neither did talia ok so u need to shut your mouth

        • And wtf bitch please u need to shut your mouth bcuz your probably a tweeker as well

  3. A drug induced psychosis shouldn’t be allowed to use as a defense. She chose with her own free will to ingest an illegal illicit drug. She would be charged with DUI had she not caused a fatal accident and was stopped in traffic stop. And if she tried to play the temporary insanity plea for a DUI the judge would laugh at her. But most times their sent to Patton State Hospital for a 30 day evaluation and deemed competent. She has a prior record with a deferred judgment for meth possession. So she will serve jail time for that. But she will most get an offer of a nice plea bargain and get off easy.

  4. … the joke of the day: what’s the only thing Mexicans loathe and detest, more than the gringos? Answer: Homework!

      • Possibly Augustino was just introducing himself before spouting a line of nonsense. As in, “I’m Augustino, the joke of the day…”

  5. This is a last ditch effort on her part The wissar family is not worried about this. there is not a chance in hell that she will get out of this. She is a smart girl and she is playing the part but we know she is not crazy, we know that she will have to face this one way or another. We had my nephews memorial yesterday and wish that you could of seen the condition of my nephew samantha lozano. And you left him there in the dirt like a piece of garbage. These were people that you called friends. Well like I said justice will come whether you like it or not or want it too or not. We will patiently “WAIT FOR IT” we will “NOT LEAVE OR GO AWAY AS YOU DID.”

    • Barely had the funeral? Why wait so long he propbably didn’t look good because he’s been dead so damn long.

      She left him like the useless garbage of a human that he was. Just because someone does it doesn’t make them a good person. He was a [removed] person in life and was left like the trash he was. No lose to society.

        • Realist huh wow not that its any of your business why it took so long to have his memorial. And you’ve got a lot of nerve calling someone garbage. Samantha will get what she deserves and she can claim mental insanity all she wants but she will get what she deserves one way or another

          • It took so long to have the funeral because this ?!#$% left the scene and left a open investigation. My nephews were not perfect but Steven was a good kid that did not deserve to die this way.

      • Why be such a mean bully? People lost their children, a niece, a nephew, a sister, a brother, etc. I did not know any of the passengers in Samantha’s car, but I do know Samantha. Why are you bullies making such a big deal and defaming the passengers in the car. It was Samantha who did wrong. I do love Samantha, but I believe she needs to be held accountable for what she did. All I am saying, is please think twice before you start hating on these kids. “Because face it”, they are all just kids. Be kind to one another and put yourself in the family’s shoes.

      • You need to shut up bcuz he was my brother and that was a disrespectful comment u put there and i hate when people say stuff about him so if i were u if would shut up

  6. Well there is anger here but she force them to get in that car yes drugs played a part were the others on drugs were they tested we don’t know everything so wait and see

    • Yes they were all tested and no none of them were on drugs I am the uncle of the all the boys the new charges of meth for sell were filed when they caught her not at the time of the accident. so unless you know what you are talking about don’t talk at all. My family has been through hell these last couple of weeks we don’t need to read about all your assumption’s

      Wissar family…….

        • He did not flee the hospital he checked himself out after his ex-rays and they stapled his head. His father and I drove him to his sisters house. He did not want to be there nor did he need to be there. The hospital took blood and did everything they needed to do before he checked out… I believe it funny how everyone knows exactly what they are talking about when you don’t

  7. This whole situation is tragic. Not only is there two lost lives and two critically injured young people, this young women is for sure going to prison for a long time. Her mental state is probably due to stress over the situation she got herself into and guilt over the loss and critically injured friends. As a community we should not be quick to judge her status and let the scales of justice work as they are supposed to. Calling her names and making accusations without fact is unacceptable behavior. My thoughts and prayers go out to the families that lost there loved ones, my hopes and prayers go out to those families of injured loved ones. And I hope that Miss Lazano is cooperative in the truth, so that the families and our community are able to move forward and heal.

      • alla. You can kiss my a$$
        I’m sure you’re the racist most Latins are races so get the f*** out in California

        • Um, this land was their land, it was not our land. (darn ear worms)

          Seriously though, this was all Mexico and many other nations before the US.
          Racism is a stupid word. Prejudice is a more powerful word.

          • California can go back to part of Mexico. It is really not so far. Please send me back to where my grandparents came from. I too would be happy with equality.

  11. If she has mental health issues why was she even drive it to begin with if she has mental health issues why didn’t her family get her to the sheriff station right away I’m calling BS

  12. So you ran from the scene of an accident where YOU killed 2 of your “friends” and you ARE a drug user so you plead “crazy”. WOW you really are a POS. Did your druggie friends tell you to do that? SMDH

  14. Now that’s a smart way to get out of trouble. Seems to me she is smart enough to deal drugs. And she was smart enough to leave the crime scene in front of everybody’s face, and elude the authorities for 10 days. Now all of a sudden she has mental problems. And if you believe that, there is a scapegoat for lots more criminals. I’m just saying

  17. … hallmark characteristic of a sanctuary city: different laws, for different people. Case in point, one Samantha Lozano. Were it you or I, who did what she did? Leaving our family, friends, companions for dead, bleeding out on the asphalt? Just how soon do you think local courts would have zoomed on the county cadastral file, and by the next business day, that fast, presto chango, poof-gone, there went every cent of equity we had, and then some? Oh but, not dearest Samantha. Her “mental capacity” now “in question,” denote how swift her advocates embedded in our deep state are, ever-ready to sap as many resources and as much free stuff as they can squeeze, from county government, for one of their own. So firstly, now we know, they want her on the happy meds. Of course, it’s you and I, paying for it. You see, from here on out for dearest Samantha, everything’s always free. No sooner than the media’s lost interest, she’ll be back out on the streets, on public assistance, embellished a cache Cal-Fresh credit cards for spending, and a brand spanking new driver’s license to serve, as a glittering example of sanctuary city justice, and sanctuary city penal reform.

    • wow, ignorant much.. she is legal and not a anchor baby either, from what i have learned her father was a respected fire captain.. so before you go ASSuming all hispanics are illegal you need to learn to be a decent person first..
      and as for leaving her friends behind, for all we know the actual drug dealer was the guy she was with, look at his fb pages, he is a total waste of space, the others don’t look like they were good citizens either, and drug addicts don’t actually have friends now do they.. this whole thing is sad, a confused young woman is facing a messed up life with gang bangers targeting her, from what i have read the boys mother is in county just waiting for this young girl to arrive, how sad is that, those boys were just following mom’s road, sam, took the wrong road and hopefully gets real help and protected from the low lifes acting like victims here..